UW leads national effort to bring people with disabilities into computing

Richard Ladner and Sheryl Burgstahler are co-directors of the new AccessComputing Alliance, a national NSF-funded effort to bring more students with disabilities into computing.

The University of Washington is launching a new national program that will consolidate its position as a leader in helping people with disabilities enter the world of computing.

The AccessComputing Alliance, supported with a $2 million National Science Foundation grant, teams up two UW entities already active in the field — the nationally ranked Department of Computer Science & Engineering and the award-winning Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology, or DO-IT, program within Computing & Communications. The intent is to build a nationwide network by partnering with other universities and industry to identify students who could benefit from specialized instruction and make the tools available to help them succeed in computing programs and careers.

“This is an untapped resource,” according to Sheryl Burgstahler, co-director of the alliance and director of DO-IT, which in 1997 received a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. “There are still a lot of computing fields out there looking for people with specialized expertise.”

Just a few years ago, she said, such pathways were blocked for many students with disabilities. But that has changed.

“We are working in new territory,” she said. “Now it’s very reasonable for these students to pursue a computing degree. We want to find them and encourage them to enter computing careers.”

Richard Ladner, co-director with Burgstahler and Boeing Professor in Computer Science & Engineering who received a presidential mentoring award last year for his work with disabled students, staff and faculty, said people with disabilities can help fill the country’s need for talented, creative individuals in computing careers.

“The shortage of qualified professionals in computing fields is due in part to the under-representation of specific groups of Americans, including women, racial and ethnic minorities and people with disabilities,” he said.

The obstacles faced by people with disabilities who want to enter the field are daunting, Burgstahler said. Facilities are often inaccessible, curriculum materials are difficult to use, and computers, scientific equipment and electronic resources are seldom designed for those with disabilities. Add to that inadequate academic support, lack of encouragement, a dearth of role models and low expectations, and the barriers can seem insurmountable.

To combat that, the alliance is using a three-pronged approach to:

Increase numbers of students with disabilities in college computing programs. This includes setting up and supporting transition programs that give participants the skills they need to make the transition to college, intensive summer academies, internships with industry and Internet mentoring efforts.

Embark on an effort to better educate college departments around the nation on what they need to do to make teaching effective for students with disabilities. This will include creating a yardstick by which departments can measure their level of accessibility.

Create a comprehensive, searchable database, the AccessComputing Knowledge Base. The database will include case studies, effective practices, training and scholarly articles, all available on the Web, to help universities, instructors and students who are working to make computing programs more accessible. The DO-IT program already maintains a similar database that focuses more generally on assistive technology and access to college and careers, Burgstahler said.

“The infrastructure is already there — we’ll use it to connect successful practices from around the country,” she said. “We are building the elements of the alliance on models that have already proven successful in DO-IT and in Richard’s work. I think we’re the perfect combination to pull this off.”

Several events are already scheduled at alliance partner schools, she added.

Gallaudet University will conduct a four-week college transition summer workshop for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. New Mexico State is planning a two-day college transition academy for high school students on supercomputing. And the University of Southern Maine will host a weekend workshop in computing for students with disabilities.

At the UW, the alliance will help support a summer Vertical Mentoring Workshop for the Blind, conducted by Ladner. The alliance is also planning a nine-week Summer Bridge Academy in Computing for 2007 at the UW, targeting deaf and hearing-impaired students.

According to Ladner, the overall thrust of the alliance involves connecting people — both those with disabilities and those who interact with them — with critical resources that they might otherwise never know about.

“This is very much a people-oriented project,” Ladner said. “We are looking at breaking up the misunderstandings that happen because people simply don’t have experience.”

Alliance partners include Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.; Microsoft; the NSF Regional Alliances for Persons with Disabilities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (hosted by the University of Southern Maine, New Mexico State University and the UW); and American Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Accessible Computing.